


Symbiosis

by avidbeader



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura (Voltron) Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, M/M, Politics, Post-Season/Series 08, Quintessence-Sensitive Keith (Voltron), Sentient Atlas (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29595480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avidbeader/pseuds/avidbeader
Summary: The last thing Takashi Shirogane, captain of theAtlas, needs is a meddling watchdog from the Garrison. Especially since his sentient ship is determined to do her own meddling when it comes to her captain and his personal life. If only she wouldn't do it in the middle of a crisis.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 80
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was begun on Twitter and will be finished in both places - I've had the urge to do something Atlas-centric for a while and I hope this ends up being as entertaining as some of the other fics I've read where Atlas very much has a mind of her own.
> 
> Thank you as always to [Latart0903](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latart0903) for the most excellent beta help!

The first couple of requests were reasonable. A real-time updated roster of the _Atlas_ crew made sense for both organizational and security purposes. A record of the ship’s known offensive and defensive capabilities was necessary as the top brass developed strategies for any potential threats, minimal though they might be after Voltron’s defeat of Honerva.

The order to have a Garrison official installed as their liaison made Shiro pause, but only for a moment. On the one hand, there were already several crew members on board who performed that role: Sam, Mitch, Veronica, himself. On the other hand, it was not unwarranted for the Garrison to have a point person for communication purposes so as not to add an extra burden to the duties of any one crew member. If Shiro had tried to keep up with every Garrison inquiry or notification on top of his own duties as captain, he probably would have gone to the Black Lion and begged to be taken back to the astral plane. This would take one thing off his plate without pushing more responsibility on any member of the command staff.

But when a General Stone reported to him, demanding both quarters in the same section as the senior bridge crew and an office next to Shiro’s ready room, his hackles rose instinctively. Atlas’ presence in the back of his head, usually a quiet and cheerful sensation, grew wary like a wild animal sensing a predator.

“Given that this was only communicated to us today, you’ll have to make do in guest quarters until we are able to make arrangements, General. I didn’t expect anyone to be appointed, much less arrive so soon.”

Which meant that someone in the Garrison hadn’t wanted to give them time to ask questions or protest the decision. And the fact that a general was assigned to a position that should have gone to a lieutenant at most was unsettling.

Stone growled at him. “This lack of preparedness is the kind of thing that I’m here for. As one of the Garrison’s most valuable assets, the _Atlas_ must be primed and ready for action at any given time.”

It took Atlas a moment to identify what the general meant, but Shiro knew immediately when she understood. There was now an angry cat hissing and spitting in his mind and it was taking everything Shiro had to maintain a polite expression.

“It’s not a lack of preparedness when information is not provided in a timely manner,” he retorted. The general reared back slightly, taken aback that Shiro had not immediately accepted the criticism.

Shiro pressed a button on a small console in his desk for show, but Atlas had already pinged the senior steward’s datapad to report to Shiro’s ready room. Before the general could form a response, he continued. “I’m sure you remember this from your protocol training, General, but bear in mind that aboard a ship, the captain is the ranking officer. You are welcome to observe and advise, but you are not part of the chain of command.”

Stone’s eyes narrowed and he entered something on the datapad in his hand. It beeped and he frowned. “What’s the matter with the connectivity here? My message didn’t go through!”

The malicious giggle that only he could hear was answer enough for Shiro. “I expect your device will need to go through a security clearance. Mention it to—” Shiro paused as his door opened before the steward could signal his presence “—the steward. Lieutenant Chaudhri, this is General Stone. He’s been assigned to us by the Garrison and will need quarters and an office when you are able to arrange it. In the meantime, could you escort him to an available space in the guest accommodations?”

The lieutenant nodded, the flash of a dimple in his cheek the only sign that he understood what Shiro was not saying. As the officer in charge of organizing lodging, supplies, and maintenance aboard the ship, he knew better than most what the _Atlas_ was capable of. If she cared to, she could have produced everything Stone was demanding within minutes. Shiro was honoring her choice not to, and Chaudri followed his captain’s lead. He saluted and held out a guiding hand.

“If you’ll come with me, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stone’s presence had an immediate and negative impact. He began by insisting on a full tour of the ship with Shiro. He complained constantly about the randomness of his datapad connection, too focused to pick up on the fact that Atlas was only letting neutral and positive reports get through. When Shiro convinced her that yes, she had to provide him an office and a set of quarters, Atlas’ response was to make an office, not much bigger than a broom closet, on the opposite side of the bridge from Shiro’s ready room, and a minimal set of quarters, as far away from Shiro as possible while still in the section for the command staff.

Stone’s next step was to observe, watching the normal routines of the crew. It made everyone nervous and more prone to mistakes. Even the oldest, most seasoned officers like Sam and Mitch were side-eying Stone when he was on the bridge. Shiro made time to circulate through the ship so he could reassure his crew that they had done nothing wrong. He noticed a sharp drop in the number of people hanging out in the common areas or lounges as any socializing shifted to rooms behind closed doors, out of Stone’s sight.

The Taujeerians requested the _Atlas’_ help in mapping a nearby star system for potential relocation sites when their planet next went through its renewal cycle. Keith took advantage of the deep-space mission to run training drills with the lions and the MFEs, improving their teamwork and response times. Stone seemed especially interested in the paladins, having noticed how their quarters were all on the same hall as Shiro’s, with the rest of the command staff on the next hall.

Shiro was in one of the conference rooms, talking with Baujal and his council, when Atlas nudged him, then sounded an alert on his datapad. He quickly excused himself and headed down to the Black Lion’s hangar.

He walked in on a shouting match between Stone, the paladins, and the MFE pilots. As he crossed to where they were gathered, he scanned their faces. Stone and Lance were nose-to-nose, yelling at one another, with Nadia backing up Lance. Keith, Allura, and James were clustered together. The others were watching closely, all in various stages of anger or irritation.

“...and I’ll see all of you censured for this insubordination!”

“As their captain, I would appreciate knowing what your complaint is against Commander Griffin and his squad.” Shiro’s voice cut through the quarrel like a knife.

“These squads are refusing my direct order! I need to observe them in action and Kogane says he won’t permit me to board his ship!”

Shiro glanced at Keith, who cocked an eyebrow at him. He had held onto his temper and let Lance as his second lead the outburst against the general. Shiro’s pride in his best friend surged, knowing that just a few years ago Keith would have been the one shouting first.

“General, it is absolutely within Commander Kogane’s rights to refuse you access to the Black Lion. The Voltron team is not part of the Garrison—”

Stone interrupted him with a squawk of disbelief. “Since when?”

“Since always,” Allura interjected, her voice full of ice. “Voltron represents the Coalition and agreed to use the _Atlas_ as one of our bases for ease of coordinating our efforts to build on the peace we have created. You may not simply demand access to any lion and expect to be obeyed without question.” Shiro noticed that Allura had used her shape-shifting abilities to make herself several inches taller than usual as she glared down from that height advantage.

“And as today’s drills are a joint exercise with the MFEs, you are not permitted to ride along with Commander Griffin. If he and Captain Shirogane give permission, you can observe the MFEs another time,” Keith added.

“I don’t need permission! I am—”

“Here to facilitate communication between the _Atlas_ and the Garrison, or so I was told,” Shiro interrupted. “Unless there is a secondary agenda that has been kept from me, your remit doesn’t include breathing down the necks of my crew or our allies. You’ve been overstepping your role for days and it ends now.”

Stone drew himself to his full height, which meant he was eye level to Shiro’s collarbones, and snarled, “We’ll just see about this, _Captain.”_

His attempt at stalking out of the hangar was ruined when Black let out a menacing growl and Stone jumped in alarm.

Once he was gone, everyone began to relax. Shiro noticed that Keith’s stance was still rigid and went over to him, laying a soothing hand on one shoulder. “You okay?”

“We will be. Didn’t expect we’d have a battle before we even got in our ships.” Keith turned to Lance and Nadia. “Thank you both for stepping up.”

“No problem,” Nadia chirped. “He’s a puffed-up toad. Happy to help deflate him.”

“And now that he’s gone, we need to get back to work. These joint exercises will continue until further notice since we need to take advantage of our current situation.” Evil grins broke out as everyone understood what Keith was doing. “Do we need to go over today’s plan again?”

“Nah, we got this,” Pidge replied before throwing a glance Shiro’s way. “Thanks for coming, Captain.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took four days for Stone’s message to the Garrison to get through, and another two days of Shiro showing the general his message inbox as proof that he had no instructions to discipline any of the MFEs. Stone’s temper was running high, as he had received a reprimand of his own, after the Coalition lodged a complaint over his attempt to assert jurisdiction over the paladins. The fact that that message had been received within hours only added to Stone’s fury.

Once Shiro finally got the orders that he was to punish all four MFE pilots for their insubordination, he met them before their usual workout routine and instructed them to run twenty extra laps around the track in the _Atlas’_ enormous gym. The squad’s groans turned to glee when they turned around and saw that the length of the track had been shrunk to a fifth of its usual size.

That evening, Keith tapped on the door that connected his quarters to Shiro’s.

Shiro looked up from the reports he was reading and frowned, taking in the Blades uniform. “What’s wrong?”

“Got a message from Kolivan. They found a ship of former Galra soldiers turned mercenary, and they’ve been hired by one side on a planet dealing with a pair of feuding provinces. He wants to stop the conflict now before it spreads.”

“Should I—”

“No.” Keith shook his head. “If the Blades go in with stealth and take out the mercs, that puts the two sides at stalemate again and the planetary government might finally contact the Coalition for help. Then we can officially come in to negotiate a settlement.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Shiro reached out a hand and Keith took it, letting Shiro draw him into a tight hug as usual. And as usual, Shiro resisted doing or saying anything more. “Be careful.”

“You, too. I don’t like leaving you with that Garrison watchdog.”

“He’s here as a liaison.”

“He’s here to find a reason to ground Atlas.”

Even as Shiro shook his head at Keith’s statement, he could feel Atlas’ alarm. “No, that would be just about the worst move the Garrison could make. The Coalition planets recognize two major factors right now that helped end the Galra Empire: Voltron and the _Atlas._ Taking one away would make the Garrison the new intergalactic villain.”

“Not forever, but long enough to figure out how to put someone else in command. They need you and Coran and Sam—hell, probably Iverson and Veronica, too—off her bridge so they can have complete control of her, including all her battle capability.”

“I mean...we do need to figure that out, if for no other reason because I will have to retire someday, but there’s no rush.” Shiro struggled to keep his expression mild as he dealt with twin reactions. He ran his hands along Keith’s arms to allay the sudden tension there and mentally tried to soothe Atlas, who was almost screeching in fury as she surrounded him possessively.

Ironically, the strength of her reaction made Shiro stop and wonder if maybe the Garrison didn’t have a point. After all, he couldn’t lead Atlas forever. He might have done the impossible once thanks to Black and Allura, but humans still had limited lifespans. But surely the Garrison brass, if they were considering the options already, would talk to him about possibilities?

“Just keep an eye on your six while I’m gone, okay?” Keith squeezed his shoulder.

“I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_He swung the sword as wide as he could, trying to hit as many opponents as possible as he forced them back.The roar of the spectators droned like machinery, a persistent buzz in the back of his head as he tried to reduce the impossible odds. Who had decided to punish him this way, with a dozen opponents? Was this the match where he finally died?_

_He shifted tactics, the sword in his hand shrinking back into a dagger. Taking advantage of his smaller stature, he dove between the legs of the nearest adversary, using him as a temporary shield against the others and slicing one quick stroke through the thigh above the cuisse. He spared a lightning-quick thought to thank the universe for giving the majority of bipedal beings a femoral artery._

_He dodged, rolled, and slashed until there was only one enemy between him and an open path to the door. With a vicious cut across the enemy’s throat, he made his bid to escape._

_Suddenly, something struck and wrapped around him from behind, dragging him to the floor. He had just enough time to press the communicator at his wrist and signal the others to leave before the cord electrified, ripping screams from him before he blacked out—_

Shiro shot upright, gasping for breath and fighting the covers that were tangled around him. There were sounds, the ordinary hum of the dim nightlights, his datapad beeping an alert, a furious pounding coming from somewhere in the next room...and an engine’s roar.

The _Atlas_ was moving at top speed.

Shiro freed himself from the bedclothes and staggered to his feet. He grabbed the datapad and looked at the message, a priority one from the night comms officer stating that the _Atlas_ had changed course about fifteen minutes before and was at full throttle. The bridge crew was locked out of all of the controls.

Shiro reached across the room with his prosthesis and snatched his robe from its hanger before moving into the sitting area. Once there, he identified the pounding as someone knocking furiously on the door to his quarters. Voices echoed from the hallway, sharp and angry.

He pressed the control and the door slid open. General Stone staggered when his obstacle vanished, wrenching himself back upright from the momentum.

“Shirogane! What’s the meaning of the course change? You weren’t scheduled to be done with the Taujeerians for another forty-eight hours!”

The paladins were behind him, shouting at him for waking them all up. Shiro looked back down at his datapad. A new message blinked below the one from the bridge. He opened it and the blood drained from his face.

  
It was two brief sentences from Kolivan: _Mission a trap. Keith has been taken._


	2. Chapter 2

“What do you mean, you can’t stop the ship? It’s a SHIP! You’ve got two Holts right here that can supposedly hack anything that beeps! Break into the system and set a new course for Earth!”

Shiro had been walking briskly down a hallway, Atlas subtly cutting the distance to the bridge, and trading messages with Kolivan to coordinate rendezvous points with the remaining Blades on the mission team, Krolia, and a squad of Coalition fighters led by Matt. He stopped short, so abruptly that Hunk ran into him, and stared at the general.

“Earth? What makes you think we’d go to Earth at a time like this? We’re going to rescue Commander Kogane!”

“You said it yourself, Voltron isn’t part of the Garrison!” Stone flapped a hand at the other paladins who had been trailing them. “So let them go take care of the situation! We’ve got to fix this malfunction immediately and since the ship was built by the Garrison, that’s the best place to go to do the diagnostic and repairs!”

Shiro couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such a wave of derision. The mental image of Atlas in robot form and rolling her eyes brought him to the edge of hysterical giggles. It was verging on too much for him to handle.

Allura must have seen something in his face. She grabbed Stone by the collar and yanked him back before he could crowd into Shiro and continue his tirade. “If you are going to be so ridiculously focused on procedure in a situation this urgent, then consider this the formal request from a council member of the Coalition to the Captain of the _Atlas_ for support in a rescue operation!”

Stone tried to twist out of her grip and she hoisted him up until his toes barely touched the deck. His face grew red as he snarled, “Captain, I am ordering you to dismiss this group except for Katie Holt and turn all your efforts to retaking control of your ship!”

Pidge’s expression grew dangerous. Shiro shifted and put one hand on her shoulder, willing her to hold her temper.

“As I told you the day you arrived, General, you are not part of the chain of command here. Your role is to keep both us and the Garrison informed of what the other needs to share. And you have not performed that role faithfully.

“The Coalition has every right to call on the _Atlas_ . It was built from plans given to us by the Alteans and is powered by the crystal that houses the remains of their flagship. They have just as much claim to it as the Garrison does. We _will_ lead the operation to recover Commander Kogane and you can inform the Garrison of our status. After that, you have two choices; you can stay in your quarters or be escorted to the brig until this operation is concluded. Which will it be?”

Stone stared at him, open-mouthed. Allura shook him, rattling his teeth with her strength. “You heard the captain. Which will it be? We have more important issues to deal with.”

“I am your superior officer and—”

Before Shiro could even bring up his datapad, much less start a message requesting assistance from security, a faint shimmer formed around Stone. Allura released her hold, skipping back nimbly. The general surged forward and bounced off the force field Atlas had brought up.

The paladins laughed as Stone began pounding his fists against the barrier that surrounded him. Allura smothered her giggles into her hand and looked at Shiro. “Shall we leave him here for the moment?”

Shiro was busy silently arguing with Atlas that, no, she could not open a portal in the floor and jettison the man into space. He gave one more psychic push, adding aloud, “Leave him here for now. We’ll deal with him later.”

They moved quickly to the bridge to find Sam and Coran with their heads together over one of the nav panels and the rest of the bridge crew huddled uneasily in the center. Sam brightened as he saw them enter. “Shiro! The _Atlas_ has locked everyone out—”

Shiro stepped up to his station and laid both hands on the panels. He focused, forming a request to let the bridge crew access their stations in as clear and simple of terms as possible. He heard gasps of surprise in the background as the connection solidified and Atlas drew him in.

_His hands were cuffed behind him. Two of the “mercenaries” dragged him from a pod into a hangar of a battleship, pausing in front of a Galra commander. The commander seized him by the throat and growled, “You’re almost certainly the right one, judging from your size, but let’s be sure. Drop your mask, Blade.”_

_He waited, just long enough to spark a reaction. The commander’s grip tightened. “Drop the mask or I tear it off. The druids want you alive, but they didn’t say that you had to be in one piece.”_

_He let the mask disappear and glared at his captor, who pulled his head up by his hair to study his face carefully._

_“It’s him. Put him in a cell and double the guard on it.” The commander raised his wrist comm and opened a channel. “Set course for the Alvega system.”_

The scene dissolved around Shiro, melding into the blue circuits that would surround him when the ship morphed into its robot form. Already he could sense Atlas veering off trajectory, plotting an intercept of the Galra battle cruiser.

_We need to meet with the others. We need the Blades’ intel. We need Krolia and Kosmo. We need the backup from the Coalition._

**_You need him. Why do you waste time?_ **

_We need a plan. We need support. We can’t get him back safely if we just charge in._

**_Not fast enough._ **

The ship shuddered around him and Shiro grabbed the console to stay on his feet, his awareness of the bridge and the clamor of its occupants returning. He rubbed at his temples with his left hand, trying to ground himself in reality once more.

“Shiro, how did you do that?” Coran shouted above the others’ reactions.

“Do what?”

“A wormhole...you took us through a wormhole, Shiro.” Allura spoke slowly, in shock.

The comms viewscreen lit up, showing Kolivan and Krolia in two panels. Kolivan nodded, hiding any surprise he might be feeling. “Good, you’re early. Permission to dock our ships, captain?”

Shiro nodded, before remembering he had a voice. “Of course. Then we’ll get the Coalition ships and head for the Alvega system. That’s where they’re taking Keith.”

He closed his eyes and planted his hands on the control panel once more. _Atlas, what are you doing?_

**_You need him._ **

_Yes, we need him. He’s the leader of Voltron. He’s a commander in the Blades._

**_YOU need him._ **

_He...he’s my best friend._

**_More than need._ **

Image after image flooded past Shiro, showing him all the stages of his life that included Keith. The Garrison and Keith becoming his best friend there. The long nights as a prisoner, sustained by memories of Keith and the hope to escape and return to him. Reuniting, only to be dragged into the middle of an interstellar war and then killed. Brought back against impossible odds, with faint memories of what it had cost Keith to accomplish that.

**_He needs you. You need him._ **

_Yes._

**_Then we get him back._ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Blades and Krolia landed in their hangar and Shiro spent those precious minutes pleading with Atlas to slow down, just a little. She was already set to repeat her wormhole jump to intercept the Coalition squadron and then the Galra ship. Shiro felt her impatience, physically thrumming through the floor up his body and pacing in his mind with her frustration.

_We need enough time to prepare. Everyone needs to know what their part of the plan is._

**_Not fast enough._ **

_We can’t communicate at your speed._

All around the bridge, datapads began beeping. People reached for them, glancing at one another in surprise. Veronica had been in the middle of writing a message and read aloud, “All personnel should prepare for two wormhole jumps in rapid succession. The first will be our rendezvous with the Coalition forces. Once they are on board the second will intercept the Galra ship where Commander Kogane is currently being held. All crew should report to battle stations the moment we are through the second wormhole.” She paused and looked up. “It’s signed by you, Captain.”

“Atlas!” Shiro looked up into the crystal that powered the ship and the connection between them that was always there hummed even stronger.

**_Faster._ **

The level of smugness was too much. Shiro slammed his human hand on the console, speaking aloud for the crew’s benefit. “Atlas, you cannot bring the entire crew in on this mission! Voltron, the Blades, and the Coalition will lead the rescue with us acting as the base of operations.”

**_Negative. You need him._ **

_Why do you keep saying that? You need to let us do our jobs!_

**_You need him. We will retrieve him._ **

_How are you tracking him anyway? The Black Lion?_

The scorn practically rolled off the crystal in front of him. **_No. That one only comes if called._ **

“Atl—” Shiro’s protest was cut off as the announcement rang out through the public announcements system. In his voice.

“All personnel prepare for wormhole jump.”

Shiro was pulled in once more.

_They were in his quarters, enjoying a rare free evening. A canceled meeting meant Shiro could actually leave his desk before dinner. Keith had brought a meal, they had watched a movie, and were now relaxed on Shiro’s couch, just enjoying the opportunity for quiet._

_Keith ran a finger along a crease in Shiro’s Altean-engineered arm and he shivered a little._

_“Does that bother you?”_

_“It’s more sensitive near the crystal.”_

_Keith looked intrigued and traced the lid of the compartment that held the gemstone, ripped from Allura’s tiara. Shiro shivered again, trying to hide the tingles that Keith’s touch stirred in him._

_The lid flipped open as Keith brushed against the latch. He paused, but looked with keen interest at the jewel, glowing softly in its chamber._

_“I’ll never be able to thank Allura enough.”_

_“What for?” Shiro looked up at Keith’s face, admiring how the light bathed the slant of his cheekbones, the line of his jaw._

_“She saved you three times over. Three times when I couldn’t help you, she did.”_

_Shiro leaned forward, intending to lay a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder, but Keith hissed and pulled away, grabbing at the fingers that had been reaching in to touch the crystal._

_“Shit, cut myself on something,” Keith said, getting up and heading for the kitchenette. Shiro followed him and watched as he ran cold water over his fingers, then shut the water off and reached for a towel. Shiro got it first and took Keith’s hand, examining it carefully._

_The wound was slight, just a shallow slit in the index finger, but for the briefest second Shiro thought he saw a spark of blue light. Fresh blood outlined the cut and Shiro pressed the towel to it. “I’ve got a first-aid kit in the bathroom. Come on.”_

_He didn’t notice how the still-exposed Altean crystal absorbed the beads of blood on its surface before resealing the compartment once more._

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


They had arrived before even half the Coalition ships had assembled. It took every bit of Shiro’s mental resolve to make Atlas stay put and wait for the others to drop out of hyperdrive. He went down to the hangars to meet Matt, who exited his fighter and clapped Shiro’s shoulder in greeting.

“Dude, what the hell was that entrance? And we thought you were getting the Blades first?”

“It’s Atlas. She’s...taken the initiative.”

“Well, she is a powerful A.I. What’s she doing that’s different from before?”

“She’s using wormholes instead of the hyperdrive. That’s how we got here so fast, she pulled me into the connection and then we jumped to the Blades and then here. She took over the comms to relay _her_ plans to the crew.”

Matt nodded along as they headed back up to the bridge.

“If I argue, she says we need to be faster. She’s so impatient and she’ll barely listen to me. Although given how on edge she’s been ever since that damned Garrison liaison arrived, I shouldn’t be surprised—”

“Wait, wait. You’re describing emotional reactions. Separate your feelings from the equation. I know you’re impatient to get to Keith, but what is the _Atlas_ doing now that is different from before?”

“I’m talking about her emotions! You wouldn’t believe how self-satisfied she was after she sent the orders to the crew through their datapads!”

“Her...emotions. You’re saying that the _Atlas_ has emotions.”

“Of course! Just like the lions!”

Matt paused, his jaw dropped in astonishment. “Shiro, that’s impossible! No A.I. that we’re aware of has emotional capacity! Self-direction, yes. Preferences, yes. But not this!”

Shiro could feel Atlas’ haste, pushing him to leave the remaining Coalition forces behind, and grabbed Matt’s arm to get him to walk again. “Well, maybe it has something to do with the transreality comet Alfor used to build the lions.”

“That doesn’t explain the _Atlas!”_

“I don’t know, Matt! Her crystal was formed when the team used the castle to prevent an explosion that would have destroyed an unknown number of realities, so maybe it has the same properties.”

**_Hurry. You need him._ **

“Yes, Atlas, you keep saying that!”

“What? What does she keep saying?”

“When I ask her why she’s so anxious to rescue Keith, she keeps saying I need him.”

Matt sputtered and clapped a hand over his mouth to hold in the laughter.

Shiro glared at him. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

Matt lost his battle and dissolved into snickers. Gathering himself, he laid a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Oh, wow, Shiro, my man. Even your ship can see it.”

“See what?”

Before Matt could answer, the alarm blared and Shiro’s voice echoed around them. “All crew report to battle stations. Prepare for next wormhole jump.”

Shiro barely registered Matt’s shocked expression before his surroundings dissolved into darkness.

_He was making his way through the ventilation shafts, tracing his way above the row of cells to the junction above the nearest security station. With any luck, his knife would be there. He needed to work with Pidge and find a way to adapt his Blade armor so he could have his bayard on hand as well._

_Shouts began echoing through the vents. They’d discovered his empty cell._

_He slowed his movements, doing his best not to make any noise as he advanced to the next grate and looked down. He was above a hallway, which should mean that his target was close._

_But as he started crawling again, someone shouted from directly below him, “Here! Energy signature here!”_

_Energy signature… Had they found a way to track the tech in the Blade uniforms?_

_A beam from an energy rifle punched up from below, just in front of him. He dodged back, then had to shift forward again as a second beam tore a hole behind him. Clawed hands reached up and grabbed, peeling the base of the shaft down. He tried to backpedal out of reach, but a Galra with arms that rivaled Zarkon’s in length grabbed and held on, yanking him down to the others._

_They pinned him to the floor and the commander’s boots stepped forward. “Clever little thing, aren’t you? Pity we won’t have you long enough to try and recruit you.” The boots shifted. “Put him back in his cell and this time see to it that he can’t get out.”_

Shiro snapped back to awareness, Matt holding him up. “Shiro, what the hell? My squadron barely had time to dock before we went through another wormhole!”

“I’ve...I’ve got to get to the bridge…” But they had barely taken a dozen steps when a much more familiar sensation ran through him. “Atlas!”

“What is it?”

“She’s engaging her robot mode!”

They broke into a run. Even as the ship shifted around them, Shiro felt Atlas throwing shortcuts ahead of them. They emerged onto the bridge and found the crew looking confused and uncertain, but at their stations. The main readout showed the paladins heading for their lions.

Shiro leaped to his station, activating the P.A. for the various channels. “Okay, paladins, take the lead and use your firepower to disable their weapons. Coalition, target propulsion. Blades, find a way inside. Keith’s in the holding cells. Let us know the second you’ve found him.”

In his mind, Atlas huffed her impatience. She surged toward the Galra ship, then reached out and closed both hands around it.

**_Gotcha._ **


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro stared for a second from his vantage point behind Atlas’ “eyes”, looking down at the Galra battlecruiser clenched in her hands. It felt like he was holding one of the 1/144 model rockets he and his grandfather would build together. Behind him Matt let out a disbelieving laugh. Someone on the cruiser tried firing their propulsion engines at full throttle and Atlas held fast.

Shiro began barking new orders over the P.A., afraid that the Galra crew would think of trying their hyperdrive. He had no idea what might happen; jumping to faster-than-light travel like that might either seriously damage Atlas or potentially drag her into warp space with them.

“MFEs, scramble and help the Coalition ships take out the enemy engines! Everyone, pinpoint strikes only, we don’t want to risk destroying it while Commander Kogane is on board. Voltron, target their ion cannon and any other firepower you can. Kolivan, will you—”

The P.A. controls went dim under his hand.

**_No._ **

“Atlas, now isn’t the time to argue!”

In front of his eyes, a portal leading down opened in the floor, glowing Altean blue. At the same time, the entrance to Stone’s office lit up and deposited Kolivan and a dozen Blades onto the bridge. A few of them lost their footing with the sudden displacement. Kolivan crouched to maintain his balance and zeroed in on Shiro. “What is happening? We need to get to our ship in order to board the cruiser!”

The light around the portal pulsed.  **_This way. Faster._ **

“I think Atlas wants you to take this path.” Shiro waved at the portal

Coran had been swiping furiously at the displays on his station, showing various sections of the  _ Atlas _ . “Captain, that’s a direct path down one arm of the robot to the hand! You can board them in under two doboshes!”

**_Go._ **

“Atlas, I can’t! My place is here!”

There was a push from his right side, as if the connection between the shoulder port and elbow of his prosthesis were suddenly repelling ends of magnets.

**_GO WITH THEM. FIND HIM._ **

A hand landed on his other shoulder. Sam. “Shiro, go with them. We’ve got this.”

Shiro bit his lip, but nodded. Kolivan waved a hand toward the portal. “Captain, if you’ll lead the way.”

He started down the ramp. Matt, Kolivan, and the extraction team followed. Shiro could tell the second the last Blade had entered as Atlas shifted to deposit them at a fingertip that already pierced the side of the cruiser, sealing off the breach and providing a way in. Four of the Blades moved to take point and they crossed, finding a currently empty hallway with alarms blaring.

Kolivan glanced around and began moving to the right, but Shiro noticed a pale blue glow to their left, a tunnel of light that was most definitely not part of a Galra battleship. He started down it, feeling Atlas’ agreement. “This way. He’s this way.”

Krolia immediately turned to follow him. Kolivan gave him one curious glance, but waved to the others to join him.

Taking advantage of the lack of enemies, Shiro called out, “Atlas has somehow formed a connection to Keith. She’s leading me; there’s a path of blue light this way, going to the left at the third turn.”

The Blades responded, moving ahead enough to check around corners before they passed intersections. A pair of mercs were taken down at the left turn before either of them had a chance to call for help.

Shiro led them deeper in, directing the others as he followed the cerulean trail. Finally they paused at one of a row of thick doors, glowing brightly.

Kolivan took over. “Krolia, take Maryk and search the nearest guardpost for your blade. Tellez, help me pry this—”

His order was interrupted by a sudden burst of ozone and a bright flash that deposited a mass of blue fur crouched over—

“Keith!” 

Kosmo whined and made room next to the huddled figure. Shiro dropped to his knees, his prosthetic hand already reaching around to crush the clasp of the muzzle that covered Keith’s face. He pulled it away and tossed it to the side, noting a deep bruise along one cheek and streaks of dried blood, both human and Galra. Keith’s eyes seemed slightly out of focus. 

“Sh’ro?”

Shiro ran his fingers lightly through Keith’s hair, finding the contusion where he’d been hit. Kolivan used his blade to slice apart the cuffs holding Keith’s hands behind his back. Keith hissed as Matt gently brought his arms forward.

“Probable concussion,” Shiro stated. “We need to get him to the sickbay.”

Matt whipped out a small instrument from a pack and began scanning it across the swelling. Keith let out a groan, squeezing his eyes shut until Matt pulled away. But when he opened them again, his gaze was clearer.

“Let’s get out of here.” Shiro moved to pull Keith to his feet, but Keith slid down again, biting back a cry as one hand reached for his ankle. Shiro saw that it was swollen, stretching the stiff fabric below the greave protecting his leg.

Matt cursed and began digging into his satchel again. Shiro moved to support Keith, shifting him to take all the weight off the injury. Matt produced a swath of shiny metallic cloth and wrapped it around Keith’s ankle, pulling it snug before pinching an edge. The cloth stiffened up, hard as a combat boot, and Shiro could feel the tension in Keith’s body fade.

“What is that?” Shiro asked.

“An idea Pidge and I brought to one of the Olkari medics to invent. Stabilizes and uses quintessence to reduce pain.”

“Works pretty well,” Keith groaned and started to push himself up.

“Oh no you don’t,” Shiro wrapped his human arm around Keith and slid his prosthesis under his knees before standing. Keith kicked with his uninjured leg, Shiro tightened his hold, and Matt laughed.

Krolia and Maryk sprinted back to them, Krolia clutching the dagger. She took in the scene with a glance and looked at Kosmo. “Sickbay, now.”

Kosmo whuffed and circled up against Shiro’s back. He barely had time to marvel that the wolf’s head now reached his shoulder before his surroundings blurred around him. They landed in the middle of sickbay and one of the examination tables immediately shot over by itself so Shiro could lay Keith down on it.

Two doctors raced over. The Olkari lit up at seeing the emergency cast on Keith’s ankle. “Excellent! First field test! How’s the pain?”

“Better than it was,” Keith replied. He glanced up at Shiro and reached over to scratch the wolf’s ears. “Thank you. But what were you doing leading the extraction team?”

“Atlas insisted.” Shiro backed out of the Puigian doctor’s way for the moment. “Atlas, patch me through to Matt.”

“Rude of you to take the space wolf express and leave us behind,” Matt snarked over the sickbay’s P.A. speaker.

“Blame Krolia if you dare. Tell Kolivan to get everyone back on board the  _ Atlas _ and let me know the minute you’re clear. The lions can take it from there.”

“We’re not collecting the captain for questioning?”

“I don’t think we need to. We know there’s a nest of druids in the Alvega system that needs clearing out. We can disable the ship and leave it for a Coalition patrol to collect.”

Shiro could imagine the looks Matt was trading with Kolivan and Krolia in the pause before Matt replied, “Aye aye, captain.”

Shiro moved back over to the examination table, where the Olkari was running an instrument over Keith’s ankle and the Puigian was taking his vitals.

“One thoroughly broken ankle. Four fractures. If you don’t mind a little discomfort, I can heal them up within a varga.”

Keith nodded, then winced.

“Check him for concussion. He’s got a bump on the back of the head,” Shiro spoke up.

The Olkari raised an amused eyebrow. “Didn’t think we’d have enough to do?”

“More like they overdid it on their captain’s orders not to let me escape a second time,” Keith replied. He focused on Shiro. “You sure about not questioning the crew? It’s not like you to fly into a situation blind.”

“Not necessary.”

Keith startled at hearing Shiro’s voice from the P.A. “What the…”

“Intel on destination and transaction downloaded from target nav system. Outpost on fourth planet from the sun anchoring Alvega’s system, estimated forces of six druids and two dozen trainees.”

Keith turned wide eyes his way. “Shiro? What’s going on?”

Shiro shrugged, unable to keep the slightly goofy grin from his face as his adrenaline started to dissipate. “You heard the lady.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No.”

“But—”

“No.”

“Kolivan, these are druids! Druids that have pulled together enough acolytes to start training more! You need all hands on deck to take them out!”

“And these are druids who were ready to pay a band of rogue mercs a large amount of credits to get their hands on you, Keith. You specifically. And we don’t know why. Going back within arm’s reach of them, even as part of an attacking force, is too risky.”

Keith pushed himself up from lying on the examination table. “I can handle it! Tyrill healed my ankle, my headache is gone. I’m fine!”

“You are not going.” Kolivan folded his arms across his chest and glared down.

Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder, trying to offer some comfort. Keith glanced at him, then his eyes lit up. Shiro was immediately wary; he knew that look all too well.

“Then we’ll take the lions in as your cover! You can’t say I’ll be in arm’s reach if I’m flying Black!”

Kolivan opened his mouth to object, but realized he couldn’t pull rank on the Black Paladin the way he could one of his senior blades. “Keith...kitling, please. You were their target. We don’t know why they’re after you. You need to stay on the  _ Atlas _ where it’s safer.”

Shiro tapped the datascreen on the wall above Keith’s head. “Atlas, please ask Allura to join us.”

Keith whipped around to stare at him. “Why?”

“I want her opinion on whether you’re healed enough to fly Black. She’s the ranking Coalition representative on board and Voltron is part of the Coalition.”

“Shiro!”

“Kolivan’s right. We don’t know enough to risk you being captured again. Remember Macidus and how he wanted revenge? We thought he was the last of the druids and were grateful. The fact that there are  _ still  _ druids out there and they’re  _ still  _ targeting you? That’s not a situation to rush into.” He strove to keep a poker face as Atlas cheerfully reminded him of his declaration not even a varga ago.

Keith’s mulish expression faded as he considered. He glanced up at Kolivan, probably remembering how Macidus had kept him prisoner for years, luring other Blades to their deaths before finally ensnaring the team and pursuing Keith, bent on destroying him.

“All right, on Allura’s say-so. But I want to be on the bridge if I stay here.”

Shiro’s immediate impulse was to agree, but with Kolivan right there and still frowning, he paused as if considering it. Before he could answer, Allura came in.

“Shiro, I just got a missive from the Coalition. They’ve gotten a flood of messages from the Garrison, classified as top priority. They’re demanding help in locating the  _ Atlas? _ I realize that General Stone’s access is almost certainly restricted, but this sounds like the Garrison can’t communicate with anyone on board.”

The giggle rose in his brain, then was quickly stifled, but not quickly enough.

“Atlas! What are you doing?”

**_Helping. No distractions._ **

“By causing bigger problems once the immediate crisis is over? No, Atlas. We’ll deal with Stone when we’ve taken care of the druids, but you have to let messages get through. We’re part of the Garrison; if we don’t follow orders they could order us back, ground us. They might remove me—”

**_NO._ **

She swarmed through his consciousness, surrounding him and flooding his vision with a blue overglow. The others faded from his sight.

“Atlas, what did you do? Where is everyone? Where’s Keith?”

**_Safe!_ **

“If they’re safe, where are they?”

**_Mine! Keep you safe!_ **

Shiro looked around. Everything was outlined in vibrant blue, but there was no sign of anyone else. Shiro turned, searching for the med staff or any sign of another person. There was no one else.

There was no one else.

Just like when he was trapped in the Black Lion’s consciousness.

Atlas recoiled in surprise, sensing his growing panic. She sent waves of comfort over him, frantically trying to soothe him. He reached for a wall to steady himself and his hand passed through. Terror closed his throat and he gasped for air, unable to tell if he was really breathing or not.

_ Atlas, send me back! _

**_Safe here!_ **

_ Send me back! My crew, everyone needs me! _

Before she could respond, the wall opposite him rippled. A hand reached in his direction, followed by an arm and shoulder, all glowing pink behind the pale blue. Like bursting through a flexible shield, the black-gloved hand broke through and the rupture parted enough to show Keith.

“Shiro!”

Shiro seized his hand and everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

Shiro snapped back to awareness and found Keith in front of him, his hands cradling Shiro’s face. Kolivan was standing in between them and the wide-eyed medical staff.

“There you are!” Allura gave a relieved smile. She was holding his prosthesis, making it glow with her signature soft pink energy. “What happened?”

Shiro closed his fingers tight around hers and slid his other arm around Keith, pulling him in and burying his face in Keith’s shoulder. He needed the physical contact to reassure himself after those terrifying moments. He drew in one deep, steadying breath, refusing to think of just how comforting Keith’s scent was under the clinical smells in sickbay, and replied.

“Atlas overreacted. She won’t even consider being separated from me. It was...almost like being trapped inside the Black Lion again.”

Allura sucked in a breath and Keith made a wounded noise. He slid his arms around Shiro’s waist and she moved in to make a three-way hug. “Oh, Shiro!” She reached up and stroked his hair, knowing that physical touch was grounding him at that moment.

“You froze in place and your eyes started glowing blue,” Keith added. “Allura tried to reach you like she did with Black when you didn’t respond.”

Allura nodded. “I could sense you, but It wasn’t until Keith was touching you that I was able to fully connect and help you back.”

“How long?” It had only seemed like a few minutes to Shiro, but the entire Voltron team knew from experience that time was a tricky thing.

“Three, maybe four doboshes? Not very long.”

Shiro nodded, shamelessly using the motion to nuzzle into Keith’s tangled hair. “Sounds about right.”

“Are you okay?” Keith drew back to look Shiro in the face, his brows furrowed in concern.

“I think so, as long as Atlas remembers not to do that again.”

**_Not again._ **

Atlas’ voice was full of apology.

“Okay, we need to reestablish contact with the Garrison and we need a little time to coordinate the attack. How long to the Alvega system, without wormholes?”

Atlas used the P.A. to answer. “Fourteen vargas, thirty-eight doboshes, sixteen ticks.”

“Plenty of time. When we have our plan ready we can wormhole the rest of the way and surprise them.”

Atlas’ predatory agreement made him smile a little.

“Shall we meet in the bridge conference room in half a varga?”

Kolivan nodded. “Yes, but why delay?”

“Because I’m going to let General Stone serve his stated purpose and update the Garrison.”

“What are you—” Keith paused in his heated protest when he saw Allura’s expression, full of gleeful anticipation. “What’s going on?”

“Did he ever make it to his quarters?” she asked.

“I have no idea. Let’s find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They stopped at Keith’s quarters first, giving him the chance to clean up and change into his paladin armor. As he did, Shiro triaged all of the messages that Atlas had held up, letting the innocuous ones through and leaving the increasingly hysterical attempts to contact the bridge crew as read, without responding. Allura instructed the comms officers at the Coalition’s base on Altea to reply to all of their messages with a short and simple “contact made”. As Keith brushed and braided his hair once more, they filled him in on Stone’s initial response.

“Wonderful. The Garrison shows its true colors. I knew it.” There was a bitter twist to his mouth, almost certainly thinking about what could have happened if the  _ Atlas _ had been delayed in pursuing the mercenaries.

Shiro laid a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder as he tied off his braid. “If Atlas hadn’t stepped up, Voltron would have.”

“I told you. With both Sam and Iverson here with us, there’s no one left among the Garrison leadership with any real experience dealing with alien tech on the scale of the  _ Atlas _ . Even the ones who were there to witness when she transformed the first time don’t have the full picture of what it’s like, bonding to a sentience like her or the lions. They actually think they can control her.”

Shiro smiled at the sound of scorn Atlas made in his head. Keith frowned at him and Shiro shook his head. “Sorry, it’s just Atlas. She shares your opinion.” He turned to Allura. “Do you think the council would offer asylum to the  _ Atlas  _ and any crew members who don’t want to return to the Garrison?”

Allura considered, ears twitching in different directions as she went through the potential ramifications. “I believe so, but let me confirm that through back channels first. I’ll contact Romelle and have her start with Ryner.”

Shiro nodded, then looked up. “Atlas, location of General Stone, please?”

She lit up the doorway that led out of Keith’s quarters. As they filed out, Shiro caught a glimpse of blue in his peripheral vision and glanced to the left. As they entered the hallway, Shiro realized that the door between Keith’s quarters and his own was now a large open arch, giving free access to each other’s space.

_ Atlas...what are you doing? _

**_Helping._ **

Shiro shook his head, trying to focus as Atlas led them to Stone’s quarters on the far end of the hallway. He knocked. “This is Captain Shirogane. May we enter?”

There was a thump inside, as if he had startled the general into dropping something. “Shirogane! Get the hell in here! You have exactly two minutes to explain yourself before I initiate court martial proceedings!”

There was another thump, followed by a streak of profanity, then the door opened to reveal Stone sprawled on the floor next to an overturned chair a meter away from its table. As Stone struggled to his feet, Atlas surrounded him in a new force field. The general stared at the glowing barrier for a few seconds, then began pounding on it as he shouted.

“Shirogane! By my authority as the Garrison’s official representative aboard this ship, you are relieved of duty, effective immediately! You will be confined to your quarters until we reach Earth, at which time I will file for an investigation into your activities as captain aboard this vessel!”

The words  _ relieved of duty  _ and  _ confined _ tweaked long-buried instinctive reactions. Shiro’s heart clenched in a brief wave of panic as Keith stepped forward.

“Now, I may be a little biased here, since you tried to prevent Atlas from coming to my rescue, but I will remind you of what you have been told multiple times. You are not part of the chain of command. I researched, and your position is part of the Garrison’s communications unit. You have no training in combat, you can’t even fly a jet. The responsibilities of your superiors do not cross with Interstellar Command in any way. In other words, you don’t have the authority to do shit. And that’s assuming Atlas would let you remove Captain Shirogane in the first place.”

“And you have failed to take into account the Coalition’s interests in the matter. We will back Captain Shirogane,” Allura added.

Stone stared at them in shock and Shiro seized his advantage, his poise regained by the firm and unconditional support.

“General, you will remain in your quarters as you can’t be trusted not to interfere. Now, you may fulfill your duties as outlined and inform the Garrison that the  _ Atlas _ is moving to support Voltron and the Blade of Marmora in a joint operation. We have discovered the presence of a druid base in the process of rescuing Commander Kogane and are en route to flush them out, as they are too dangerous to ignore. Interstellar Command is welcome to send any questions they have to Corporal Veronica McClain, who will be in charge of security during the operation. Her replies will, however, depend on her availability.”

He glanced at Keith and Allura, who immediately moved toward the door. As they exited, Stone found his voice and began screaming, “I’ll see you court-martialed and in prison for this, Shirogane!”

Shiro turned around, treasuring the confidence he was drawing from his friends. He walked up to Stone, who shrank from him, in spite of the barrier separating them, as Shiro towered over him. “Been there, done that. If I survived a Galra prison for a year, what makes you think I’d be afraid of the Garrison?”

He didn't look back as he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In an expanded conference room courtesy of Atlas, Shiro waited a few minutes so the rest of the paladins, the MFEs, and the bridge crew could welcome Keith back. Seeing him fit and ready in his glossy red and white armor sparked an extra wave of confidence in the room. There were handshakes, backslaps, and Pidge and Nadia tackled him in a hug at the same time. 

Shiro called the meeting to order, then had Atlas bring up a display of information taken from the mercenaries’ battlecruiser. It plotted a course to the planet and gave a set of coordinates for landing on a base hidden by holographic technology.

“The big unknowns are the strength of the full druids, the level of training the acolytes have, and the potential offensive capabilities for the base.” Shiro let his prosthesis wave around the display. “If their goal is to work in secret and expand their numbers, then it’s possible that they’re depending on the camouflage to protect them and haven’t put any resources into firepower.”

“They’re druids,” Keith interrupted. “They have plenty of firepower.”

Shiro remembered just how many times Keith had tangled with druids and gestured for Keith to continue.

“They can teleport, flashing from one location to another in rapid succession. They can throw lightning, which implodes at the moment of impact. They can use that same force to send concussive blasts and block incoming attacks. Some of them were good with a sword.”

Allura nodded, her eyes unfocused as she remembered. “If they’ve recreated them, they have floating platforms that they can direct mentally, giving them excellent mobility even without the teleporting.”

“And the strongest of them could cast illusions,” Shiro added. “We need to do as much damage as possible from a distance before closing in.”

“Good thing you all were able to get this information, then,” Sam commented, then glanced at Kolivan. “Thanks for that.”

“That wasn’t us. We went straight in to find Keith and came straight back.”

“Then where did this come from?”

Shiro tried to smother his grin as Atlas snickered in his mind. “Atlas grabbed it.”

“And just how was Atlas able to connect with the other ship’s system and grab it?”

The grin broke through as Shiro answered, “She says she learned it watching you.”

Laughter broke out across the room at Sam’s dumbfounded expression.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This time Atlas let Shiro lead as they worked together to create the wormhole, Allura watching like a hawk from Blue. Voltron was already assembled and ready to fly through the wormhole alongside the  _ Atlas, _ and the MFEs were scrambled and ready to launch the moment they were through. The Coalition and Blade ships would stand by, ready to bring down a ground assault as soon as it was deemed necessary.

They exited the wormhole less than ten kilometers above the landing coordinates and opened fire. A holographic shield shattered, exposing a base about half the size of the Galaxy Garrison, tucked in a valley surrounded by high, jagged mountain peaks. Shiro had to fight to keep his focus as Atlas began scanning and feeding strategic targets to the MFEs.  


Dimly he heard Keith direct Lance and Pidge. They fired on a small hangar that contained several pods, cutting off the druids’ chance to escape off-world. James ordered Nadia and Ryan to swing around and come in from the west while he and Ina took the east.

Sam’s voice cut through the chatter. “Team, a new shield has just formed around the northeast quadrant of the base. Concentrate all fire on anything that looks like a generator. Voltron, do you think you can get that shield down?”

“We can try, Commander. Lance, we need the sword.”

The sword took shape in the Red Lion’s jaws and Voltron poised to strike. Shiro had the fleeting memory of the one time he and Keith had activated their bayards together, igniting the sword with a powerful flame that crippled Zarkon’s robeast-like mech. Had Keith ever duplicated that feat with Lance? The idea sparked a flare of jealousy and Shiro shook his head to regain his focus.

He felt Atlas pause in her scans, hovering curiously over some bit of information from the base, and touch his mind to get his attention.

_ What is it? _

**_Found something._ **

_ What did you find? _

**_Something called a Komar. What’s a Komar?_ **

Shiro’s head snapped up in horror and he jammed his fingers against the comms panel. “Retreat! Fall back, everyone! Fall—”

A gap appeared in the energy dome and malevolent black lightning surged through, striking Voltron dead on.


	5. Chapter 5

“What was that?”

“—never seen anything like it!”

“It blew Voltron apart!”

“Lions are unresponsive!”

“Are there any life signs?”

Shiro thought frantically, then formed a plan. Atlas immediately responded, moving in front of the lions where they drifted in the upper atmosphere. She brought up a shield and funneled power into it as he gave orders. “MFEs, get the lions into their hangars. Two of you per lion, fast as you can. The particle barrier can hold off one, possibly two strikes from that Komar.”

“Komar?” Coran gasped. “They recreated the Komar?”

“What does it do?” Iverson demanded.

“It’s an incredibly powerful energy drain. It can kill a planet, drawing all the quintessence from every living thing and leaving it a chunk of rock,” Coran answered, then pressed a control at his station. “Allura? Allura, can you hear me?”

Shiro was blindsided by a stab of panic from Atlas at the same time that a furry blue mass popped into existence in front of him and rammed into his chest.

He fell on the floor of the Black Lion’s cockpit.

“Keith!”

A cloaked figure with a familiar pointed mask was leaning over Keith, stripping his armor and tossing it aside. Shiro sent his prosthesis across the cockpit and knocked it away as Kosmo scrambled off him and charged. The druid repelled the wolf with a punch of air that rattled Black. As the druid’s hands began to glow purple, Shiro rolled to his feet and leaped in front of the pilot’s chair to shield Keith.

The druid sent lightning at them and power thrummed through Shiro’s prosthesis, spreading blue energy out into a barrier that reflected the lightning back toward the druid. Kosmo darted forward and seized the druid’s arm in his jaws. Shiro winced at the sound of snapping bones and the unearthly shriek that drilled into his eardrums.

“Kosmo, take out the trash!”

To his surprise, the wolf vanished with the druid and reappeared almost instantly, alone. Shiro took one second to scratch his ears. “Good boy. Check on the others?”

Kosmo whined and nuzzled Keith’s hand.

“I’ve got him. Make sure the others are still in their lions?”

Kosmo teleported away and Shiro pressed two fingers under Keith’s jaw. His pulse was slow but steady. Shiro checked quickly for injuries and, finding none, looked around the dim cockpit. Black was drained too far to power communications and Shiro was in his bridge uniform, not his flight suit with the built-in comms. He spied Keith’s helmet on the floor and sent his prosthesis after it. He brought it to his ear, able to pick up the frantic chatter as the bridge crew tried to raise him or any of the paladins.

“Bridge, I’m here! Kosmo zapped me into the Black Lion. There was a druid, about to take Keith away. Kosmo’s checking on the rest of the paladins. What’s your status? Have they fired the Komar again?”

“There has not been a repeat shot and the readings suggest that they’ll need time to recharge it,” Veronica answered. “Now might be a good time to attack if we can regroup.”

“Finish bringing the lions into their hangars and send med teams to check on each paladin. If things happen the same way they did last time, they should wake in a few minutes. MFEs, return to base as soon as you’ve helped the lions. You’re too exposed otherwise.”

“Copy,” James answered.

“As soon as everyone’s back in the _Atlas,_ we’ll—”

Twin puffs of black vapor materialized into a pair of druids. Shiro dropped the helmet and pulled Keith up from the pilot’s chair, holding him close with his human arm. He raised his right arm, ready to shield them both with the prosthesis. But instead of throwing lightning, the druids sent pulses of black energy one after the other. The first one shattered Shiro’s wall of blue and the second one landed, spinning him around. He clutched Keith to him and flung out his arm to keep from falling.

The second his hand touched the Black Lion’s console, Atlas acted.

**_WAKE UP!!_ **

Blue light surged from under his fingertips, spreading across the controls and melding into a brilliant purple. Shiro felt Black stir around them just before the roar shook the cockpit.

Keith inhaled sharply, his eyes snapping open. He twisted in Shiro’s grasp and the sword from the black bayard materialized and flew from his hand as he threw it, catching one of the druids in the sternum. Its shrill scream was cut off as it burst into motes of purple light. The second druid vanished and Keith pulled out his blade, letting it expand, and waited with an expression of fierce concentration.

A wave of soothing comfort washed over Shiro, sending a wordless message of safety. It had a weight to it, an authority borne of age. But it wasn’t until Keith relaxed and said, “All clear,” that Shiro understood, because it had been that long.

He was connected to Black once more.

Atlas preened, welcoming a second source of protection for her captain. **_Better._ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keith held out a hand and his sword shrank back into bayard form and disappeared, rematerializing in his grip. He let his blade slip back to dagger-size and stowed it. He scrambled back into the pilot’s chair and tapped a control. “Paladins! Can you hear me?”

When there was no answer, Shiro put a hand on his shoulder. “They’re probably still recovering from the Komar blast—”

“Komar? What’s...wait,” Keith broke off as he placed the term. “Shit, how many shots did they fire? Is Atlas okay?”

“Whoa, whoa. Yes, they’ve managed to build a new Komar, but it only fired the one shot at Voltron and Veronica says they’re recharging it. I had the MFEs start towing the lions back into their hangars—my plan was to regroup on the bridge and see if Atlas had enough firepower to take down the shields and destroy it.”

“But if Black’s operational again, why aren’t the others?” Keith took the vambrace Shiro handed him and slotted it back over his forearm.

“I think Atlas recharged Black.”

  
  
“Can’t she recharge the others, then?”

Atlas’ negative was filled with regret, but before he could voice her thought, Keith’s expression shifted into a frown. “What do you mean, I’m special? What’s different about me?”

Shiro paused in the act of sliding a rerebrace over Keith’s bicep. “Wait, Keith...did you...did Atlas…?”

“I think she just talked to me.”

Atlas positively oozed smugness, while Black huffed in mild annoyance. Shiro shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “Let’s help the MFEs get the other lions to safety and regroup. If the intel is correct and there were only six full druids, we’ve cut their strength by a third already.”

Keith steered Black toward Green, who had been drifting into the planet’s gravity, and scooped her up into his jaws. Shiro leaned over Keith and tapped a comms switch. “Bridge, status report?”

“The Red and Blue Lions are in their hangars and med teams are trying to get in. All four MFEs headed to the Yellow Lion since you’ve got Green,” Veronica replied. “Readings suggest that the recharge for the Komar is at forty-five percent and we have maybe five doboshes before they can fire again.”

“Copy. We have one druid confirmed down and probably two.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Kosmo reappeared and immediately went for Keith’s face, licking eagerly. “Yes, boy, yes, I’m fine. And thanks. Can you go tell Mom I’m okay? I’m not sure how up to date she is.”

With a yip, the wolf vanished. Black dropped Green into her hangar gently and backed out, preparing to swing around and help the MFEs with Yellow.

Shiro began, “Veronica, tell the med teams—”

“Hang on!” Keith spun the Black Lion into a tight barrel roll and Shiro barely had time to grip the back of the pilot’s chair with his prosthesis to hold himself in place. There were several thuds behind him and Shiro glanced back, alarmed to see four cloaked figures tumbling helplessly.

There was a push from Black and as Shiro reached mentally to meet it, his left hand closed around…a bayard?

“Pull out, Keith!”

Keith righted their flight path and went into a steep climb, keeping the invaders off balance. Shiro let go of the pilot’s chair and slid down. As he brought the bayard up, it coalesced into a long shape, like a curved sword but much heavier.

A tekkan.

Shiro shifted his grip on the hilt and swept the tekkan across, causing his opponents to duck. One was too slow and the heavy, blunted blade caught it across the head, dropping it to the floor. Shiro sent his prosthesis across to grab another one by the throat and hold it in place long enough to strike it down with a second blow. The remaining two vanished once more.

Without hesitation, Shiro brought the tekkan down hard on the neck of the druid. The sound of its neck snapping triggered the burst of light as the druid vanished. A second flash made him turn to see Keith, his Marmora blade shrinking back down to dagger size.

Keith moved back to the controls. “Team, we have two more druids down. Has there been any sign of them attacking on board Atlas?”

“Nothing, Commander,” Iverson responded. “Every offensive move they’ve made has been centered on Voltron or the Black Lion. Recommend that you return to your hangar.”

Keith glanced at Shiro, thinking hard. “If we can get Captain Shirogane back on the bridge, I can try acting as bait—”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Shiro snapped. He grabbed up the cuirass to Keith’s armor from the floor where the first druid had tossed it, and strode forward to help Keith put it back on. “You were seconds away from being captured by them a second time and we still don’t know why they’re fixated on you.”

Keith bit his lip and looked away, clearly frustrated with the entire situation.

Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get to Atlas and regroup.”

“Fine, fine. Everyone’s telling me the same thing and I can’t argue against all three of you.” Keith huffed. With a visible effort to shake off his irritation, he tapped the tekkan Shiro still held. “Nice bayard you got there.”

Shiro frowned at it, concentrating on returning it to normal. The long truncheon shrank back into sleek curves and he held it out.

“Oh, no,” Keith laughed. “I’ve got one weapon already. You can keep that one until this is over. If I need it I can get it.”

“Captain!” Veronica’s voice echoed through the various open comms. “Energy readings are spiking! They’re about to fire again!”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The instant the lightning crashed against Atlas’ shield, Shiro could tell that they’d fired early. Both Atlas and Black fed him estimates of a forty-percent drop compared to the strength of the first blast (and somehow he could “hear” both of them at the same time, without confusion). But sixty percent was still enough to feel it as the Komar began pulling at Atlas’ power. Shiro staggered with the drain on his own strength and Atlas whimpered in his head.

**_Hurts!_ **

“Bridge, pull power from all nonessential functions! Put what you can into the shield, but make sure life support stays uninterrupted!”

Keith thrust the steering poles forward and Black surged through the flickering shield. They fired every energy weapon they had—mouth, eyes, shoulders, tail—into the gap in the dome below. Explosions erupted inside it and the malevolent lightning vanished.

“Komar is down! I repeat, Komar is down!” Veronica shouted. “Energy readings at fifteen percent and dropping!”

Shiro took a deep breath to steady himself, then yelped when a second chair rose from the floor, knocking into his calves so he fell into it. Keith twisted around his own chair at Shiro’s yell and flashed a grin at him. He patted a steering pole. “Good kitty.”

Shiro focused on his breathing, feeling energy slowly seep into him from Black.

**_Ow._ **

_Ow, indeed. Are you okay?_

**_Tired._ **

_I bet you are. Can you open Black’s hangar?_

**_Done._ **

“Atlas has your hangar accessible. Let’s go in.”

Keith nodded and turned Black around. “Voltron team, is anyone there?”

“Allura here. What happened?” The princess’ words slurred together.

“The druids had a working Komar and took us by surprise. Atlas was able to recharge Black through Shiro. Do you need help?”

“I… I’ll be all right.” There was a pause and when she spoke again she sounded much more alert. “You said ‘had’. Does that mean—”

“Yes, it’s down. We’re heading to dock with Atlas now and sort out how to take out the last druids.”

Shiro leaned forward to squeeze Keith’s shoulder, then sat back. “Bridge, I should be there within five doboshes. We need to bring down the rest of those shields and clear a path for the ground strike team.”

“Copy that, Captain,” Sam replied.

They were less than fifty meters from the open hangar when a frisson of energy ran through Shiro. He felt Black’s sudden panic just before a druid materialized in front of Keith and seized one arm.

They both vanished in a cloud of black vapor.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always for reading!


End file.
